1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a portable tracking system, and more particularly, to an electronic portable child/person tracking system that monitors a child/person's relative distance from a receiver unit and triggers an alarm when the child's distance exceeds a predetermined threshold.
2. Description of the Background Art
Children and senior citizens are kidnapped or lost every day in the United States and around the world. The problem has become epidemic. Oftentimes this happens when a caretaker is preoccupied. A child or senior citizen can wander off in a matter of seconds unbeknownst to the caretaker. If a warning could be triggered when the child or senior citizen wandered beyond a predetermined distance from the caretaker, the caretaker could recover the child or senior citizen before they are lost or taken. The warning system would provide additional reliability and faster recovery time if it allowed the caretaker and child/senior citizen to communicate.
A variety of tracking systems are known in the art, but they fail to adequately address and resolve the shortcomings of the prior art as contemplated by the instant invention. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 7,106,191 discloses a child distance monitoring and alerting system, U.S. Pat. No. 7,119,677 discloses a personal monitoring system, U.S. Pat. No. 7,038,589 discloses systems and methods for tracking an object, U.S. Pat. No. 6,888,464 discloses a child locating system, U.S. Pat. No. 6,075,442 discloses a low power child locator system, U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,931 discloses a device for monitoring the movement of a person, U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,131 discloses an electronic tether, U.S. Pat. No. 7,012,522 discloses a child monitoring system, U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,593 discloses a child proximity detector, U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,817 discloses a child monitoring system, U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,135 discloses a child monitoring device, U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,163 discloses a child position monitoring and locating device, U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,569 discloses a child alarm, U.S. Pat. No. 7,019,643 discloses an out-of-range detector, U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,291 discloses a distance monitor especially for child surveillance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,007 discloses a proximity monitoring system, U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,223 discloses a personnel location monitoring system and method, U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,290 discloses a mobile perimeter monitoring system, U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,794 discloses a personal emergency locator system, U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,425 discloses a monitoring and locating system for an object attached to a transponder monitored by a base station having an associated ID code, U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,815 discloses a portable anti-theft device, U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,233 discloses a personal security and tracking system, U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,932 discloses a radio frequency security system with direction and distance locator, U.S. Pat. No. 5,650,770 discloses a self-locating remote monitoring systems, U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,259 discloses a proximity alert and direction indicator, U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,967 discloses a system and method for tracking and locating an object, U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,365 discloses a multi-hazard alarm system using selectable power-level transmission and localization and U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,426 discloses a system and associated method for protecting valuable personal possessions.
Based on the foregoing, there exist a need for a system that addresses the shortcomings of the background art. The instant invention addresses this need by providing a system for tracking individuals and facilitating communications as contemplated by the instant invention described herein.